Israel's foreign minister on Thursday shrugged off the Palestinian dismissal of a 10-month moratorium on some building in West Bank settlements, saying winning international support was more important.
"The last thing that should interest us is the Palestinians' concern. Before the Palestinian issue, what should interest us is our friends in the world," Avigdor Lieberman told Israel Radio. "We spoke to them and most said 'help us to help you'."
The announcement on Wednesday of the partial freeze was welcomed by the United States. It has been pressing Israel to limit settlement activities in the West Bank to coax Palestinians to renew peace negotiations stalled since December.
But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision, ratified by Lieberman, leader of the far-right Yisrael Beitenu party, and other members of Israel's security cabinet, fell short of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's demands. Abbas has called for a full halt to settlement construction as a condition for reviving peace negotiations suspended since December. Netanyahu has rejected a complete cessation and Washington has said there should be no preconditions for talks.
Under Netanyahu's plan, no new residential building permits would be issued and no new residential construction could start for 10 months in "Judea and Samaria", biblical terms Israel uses for the West Bank excluding annexed areas around Jerusalem.
However, some 3,000 homes already approved or under construction would be completed during that time. "The ball is in the Palestinian court," Lieberman said.
Abbas said the onus remained on Netanyahu. "The prime minister had to choose between peace and colonisation, but unfortunately he chose colonisation," the Palestinian president told reporters during a visit to Chile. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in a statement the Israeli move was a "step in the right direction" and "a positive contribution to peace".
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said his country wanted the Israeli decision to "become a step towards resuming meaningful negotiations". He called on Israel to implement a full freeze on settlements, which he deemed "illegal".
Palestinians wanted Jerusalem and its surrounding areas included in a freeze. They have voiced fears that Israeli settlements, built on land captured from Jordan in a 1967 war and occupied, would deny them a viable state.
Near the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, a Palestinian stabbed two Israelis before being shot and wounded by a passing Israeli soldier, the army said. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Israel's Army Radio that Netanyahu's move was designed to deflect US pressure.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said he hoped settler leaders would view the partial freeze in the context of ensuring Israel's good relations with the United States, citing the need to maintain Israel's military superiority in the region. Top of the Netanyahu government's agenda is Iran's nuclear programme.
Some Israeli commentators speculated US President Barack Obama, while aware Israel's move did not meet Palestinian demands, wanted to show some progress in his peace efforts before receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on December 10. Some 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and annexed areas around Jerusalem among 2.7 million Palestinians.
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